Seattle Developer Goldberg to Add Housing in Bremerton and Transform Construction Industry in the Process

Local real estate developer Mark Goldberg is changing the way people live, work and play, not just in Bremerton, but in the Seattle area as well. We see every day how traffic in Seattle is worsening, with commutes growing longer every day. That’s where Goldberg comes in. He is currently developing a residential project in Bremerton that’s sure to attract people who want to live there but work in Seattle, and is using a technology called high definition building information model (HD BIM) to do it.

With a population of 39,520 people in Bremerton and 264,811 in overall Kitsap County, the county’s population is growing. From 2010 to the projected 2016 Census, the population in Kitsap County grew by 5.4 percent. And the county is projected to grow by an additional 17,739 more people over the next five years, according to Conway and Pederson’s Economic Forecast. The projected population increase will result in new apartment demand of over 1,300 units, with 60 percent of those in Bremerton alone.

Goldberg’s new multifamily development, located at 1943 Wheaton Way in Bremerton, will deliver the first phase of new supply of housing to Bremerton with 111 units. Goldberg said the demand for communities like his are abundant in Bremerton, but his focus is on the aesthetic of the location, as well. “We want to be real sensitive to design,” he said. “You can just build anything over there, and it’s going to get filled up. There’s a half of one percent vacancy rate,” Goldberg said. He added that if 1,000 units went up tomorrow, there would be enough demand for even more, and they would fill up just as quickly. Goldberg stressed that demand isn’t necessarily from people already living in Bremerton, but from people in Seattle who want to get away from the rising rents and escalating traffic woes.

The multifamily development, aptly named Water, Wind & Sky, will offer unobstructed, 180-degree views of the Port Washington Narrows, Sinclair Inlet and the Olympic Mountains to over half of the units. While the units may be smaller in size than what is already existing in Bremerton, they’ll make up for it with 330’ of waterfront. Units range from studios (40 units) to one-bedrooms (59 units) and two-bedrooms (12) units. The square footage on average is 454 square feet for the studio, between 512 and 710 for a one-bedroom and 945 for a two-bedroom. Below-grade parking is also included in the project, as well as a fitness center, rooftop deck and outdoor areas. “We give a lot of thought to really creating something that’s unique that fits into its location,” Goldberg said.

Voters in November 2016 passed a direct passenger-only ferry from Seattle to Bremerton that will connect the two cities within 28 minutes, drastically reducing commutes starting July 2017. Right now, the car ferry ride is about 55 minutes. “It’s going to be the only reliable commute in this region,” Goldberg said. “When word gets out that people on this side of the pond that there’s product over there—you see that’s always been the problem, that’s why nobody knows about it, that’s why nobody’s ever been there, there’s no product,” he said.

The project is also looking to bring an innovative way of building to the industry in hopes to not only transform how developments such as these are done, but to also save money and time during the construction process. “HD BIM is a process that instills credibility back to the design process and predictability into the construction process,” said Greg Luth, who is part of the HD BIM development team for the Water, Wind & Sky project. At its core, HD BIM exists to add value to a project and is a blend of technology and team conduct.

Using the technology can save 30 percent of the schedule and 20 percent of costs but some of it’s most valuable attributes is that communication and collaboration of all data is on one platform and One Model at all times. One Model contains data on each individual part of a project during design, construction and through the life cycle of the project. In essence, with One Model, before construction ever starts, the design is complete. This helps cut down on waste during the construction build-out phases and allows for teams to run more efficiently, effectively and correctly.

The process for HD BIM typically starts with a digital mock-up and then moves to a design review, process simulation, project management and finally, facility management. The goal is to have HD BIM and One Model improve predictability, sustainability, quality, reduce waste, risk and cost. These are the steps Goldberg and his team are using to build their waterfront community.

With this project, Goldberg said, there are restraints. “This is a very constrained site, we’re right up against the sidewalk. We don’t have one inch of extra space, literally.” That’s where the importance of HD BIM comes in. Using it throughout the process, it can help eliminate error. “The long-term is about HD BIM,” Goldberg added.

By using HD BIM, Goldberg and team are looking to reduce the construction schedule of this project by at least two months with an anticipated decrease in the cost from $21 million to $18.5 million. Goldberg said construction will hopefully be starting within the next 90 days.